Lake Street Entrance to the SNETT-older, town-made sign on the right, and newer, DR sign at trailhead on the left

The SNETT is within walking distance of where I live in Bellingham, and thus I’ve been able to keep a pretty close eye on any progress, or lack thereof, in making this section of trail more useable.

Massachusetts Walking Tour headed out on the nearly completed SNETT at Lake Street

While the Massachusetts Walking tour was in town work on the SNETT became problematic, since the hiking musicians had planned to use the SNETT to travel from Bellingham to Franklin, and then back again from Franklin on toward Blackstone. (They had also used the SNETT for some of their travels in Douglas as well–the SNETT travels through six towns in this area.) The troupe was able to safely get past the construction and use the trail, but until the morning they came through we weren’t sure the trail would be passable.

Brand new entrance to trail

Prior to this trail work, the section of the SNETT from Lake Street in Bellingham back to Prospect Street in Franklin had been filled with humps and bumps, large chunks of gravel and soft sandy spots–not great for biking, but manageable for walking. Not a wonderful experience, but passable.

On the completed section of the SNETT

This morning, Independence Day, we rose early to beat the heat and headed over to see the work DCR had done on the trail and had a great walk along this finished section of the SNETT. It’s a short portion of the trail, only about 3/4 of a mile, but combined with the adjacent section from Lake to Center Street in Bellingham, now provides nearly two contiguous miles of completed trail. The surface is paved as it approaches Lake Street. (There must have been a bridge over the road in years past, but now there is simply a pretty steep slope down to the road, then back up the other side.)

Plenty of shade in the morning

I was able to walk in sneakers since the packed stone dust is easier on my feet than pavement. There was a lot of shade on the trail, but the horse flies were buzzing about where there is standing water in the drainage areas along the edges of the path.

At Prospect Street

When we reached Prospect Street we found large stones that reached up to the Prospect Street crossing, clearly set there for drainage purposes, until the Prospect Street Underpass can be built.

Ready to head back from Prospect Street. Yup, cooling scarf and water mister got put to work to keep me cool on the trail.

It was difficult to walk over, and bikes will need to be walked to reach the slope that climbs up and over Prospect Street. Not great for now, but I keep telling myself, “It’s temporary.” Onward!

Marjorie Turner Hollman is a personal historian who loves the outdoors, and has completed two guides to Easy Walking trails in Massachusetts, “Easy Walks in Massachusetts 2nd edition,” and “More Easy Walks in Massachusetts.” A native Floridian, she came north for college and snow! Marjorie is a Certified Legacy Planner with LegacyStories.org, and is the producer of numerous veterans interviews for the Bellingham/Mendon Veteran’s History Project. http://www.marjorieturner.com